Rock island

Hey I'm new to the forum but just wanted an opinion on a rock island .45 1911. I just picked one up for $300 its nickle and like new guy I got it from said he only shot one mag through it and judging by the condition and this individual I'd say thats prolly right. Ive been wanting a 1911 though this seemed like a good deal is it worth working on or should I trade it off for somthing better... I just want a project to build nothing major

Hey I'm new to the forum but just wanted an opinion on a rock island .45 1911. I just picked one up for $300 its nickle and like new guy I got it from said he only shot one mag through it and judging by the condition and this individual I'd say thats prolly right. Ive been wanting a 1911 though this seemed like a good deal is it worth working on or should I trade it off for somthing better... I just want a project to build nothing major

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Welcome to the forum.
Do a search on "Problematic RIA" (yeah, there is a long thread).

RIA make good knockaround guns. You get a lot of gun for the money. But in my opinion, they make poor platforms for customization projects. Put $500 worth of parts and labor into the gun and you've still got a $300 RIA. If you decide to sell it, you'll be eating a lot of the money you put into it. If you want to customize a gun, I'd start with bone stock Colt or Springfield as opposed to a RIA. Just my two cents...

Same here! Love it as if it were couple thousand! Only you know what it costs.
I seem to have a small problem. I noticed a slight gouge in the middle of my feed-ramp.(frame not barrel) I was thinking about taking my Dremel to it because JHP's get a little delayed on their way in. FMJ's and Leads feed just fine. I can feel the delay/hang-up on each shot. Thought that a nice polish might be the cure. Any ideas on how to proceed? Read bout people doing something like this, and ending up with a gun that won't feed at all...

Im sure that it is mil-spec like my High Standard 1911 is. I have had alot of internal parts switched out and everything went right in " except for the beavertail" but even it only took a little fitting. I speak very highly of mine. Close to 500 rounds through it and 0 malfunctions or problems.. its also my carry weapon.

While I am a big 1911 fan and carry a SA, I do not, at this time own a Rock Island. That said, I have shot them and have friends who love theirs. I think you make a dang good deal and you have a fine gun. The ones I have shot did just what they were supposed to do. The made a loud noise every time I hit the bang switch. They also grouped quite well enough for any purpose you may want a 1911 for.

Some folks will look down their noses at anything less than a Wilson, but as my tag says, I believe it is the man, not the machine that makes the difference.

I would rather have a $300.00 .45 and $700.00 worth of ammo to practice with than to have a $1000.00 1911.

I caution you about letting any solvent such as Hoppes #9, containing amonia, contact the nickle finish. I don't know what process Rock Island uses to nickle coat, but if it has a copper undercoat, the amonia will attack it & allow the nickle to flake off.

yeah a lot of people look down on RIA, but I've never heard anything bad about them from their owners.

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I didn't care for the compact one I had. It wouldn't feed any types of HP ammo I tried. Parkerizing was thin and poor in my opinion. And the front sight would come loose and slide from side to side in the channel. I had it less than 1 month and sold it. I won't own another one.

I didn't care for the compact one I had. It wouldn't feed any types of HP ammo I tried. Parkerizing was thin and poor in my opinion. And the front sight would come loose and slide from side to side in the channel. I had it less than 1 month and sold it. I won't own another one.

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Well your the first I've heard from who owned it and didn't like it. Still pretty decent track record though. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, it's a real bummer.

When I first got my model 65 I was totally ticked, it wouldn't fire. primer strikes were too light, so I know how it is to get your hands on a bad gun. In my case it turned out to not be too bad, the spring tensioner screw had been backed out, probably by the previous owner to lighten the trigger pull.

Well ive had the gun for a little over a week and it was like new I couldnt even tell it was fired... Ive put 150 rounds through it so far and it hasnt had any issue. It is the model with the fixed front sight but it groups well. Do to the finish and non target nature of this gun I prolly will not mod it. I will still carry my sig that I absolutely love but this was never meant to carry just a deal that I will trade off or sell or just have some fun with. As a gun collector I have several that dont see weekly action and this is a nice looking gun for my collection

Come over to the 1911.com site we will talk to you without running you pistol down.

I entered the search just like danf ly wrote it, only found 17 hits most liked the pistol, just because have a lot of post doesn't mean you know it all!

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There have been good and bad experiences with RIA. No slam intended. I have had a bad experience with a .45 RIA and was showing the problems I had with that particular pistol, but the .38Super I have has not presented any problems (though it is in stock form, I want to change sights later.)